Eclipse the story of a racehorse and a rogue

Eclipse was born on Fools day 1764 during a solar eclipse,He was probably born at the Cranborne Lodge Stud which was owned by his breeder,Prince William Augustus ,Duke of Cumberland whose main claim to fame was the putting down of the Jacobite rebellion at the Battle of Culloden.He was sired by Markse and his Dam was Spilletta(the horse not the Duke!)Eclipse was sold to a sheep dealer called William Wildman in 1765,Wildman introduced Eclipse to the racing world in may 1769 at Epsom,his jockey that day was John Oakley but more interestingly was one Captain Denis O'Kelly who is said to have shouted the famous phrase "Eclipse first the rest nowhere" nowhere being that no horse could get within 240 yards of Eclipse .The horse duly done the business and won easily O'Kelly paid Wildman 650 Guineas for a half share of Eclipse.Captain O'Kelly was married too a brothel owner called Charlotte Hayes and like the ladies of the brothel Eclipse just kept on giving, winning any race he entered.

O'Kelly who had a never ending supply of money and was a patron of not only the racecourses but the casinos as well, made a fortune from the horse who won all of the eighteen races he took part in, Although some races banned Eclipse from running because O'Kelly was not a member of the gentry,but this really made no difference to Eclipse because it was agreed in racing circles that he was unbeatable so much so that in 1771 he was sent to stud (charging fifty pounds per mare) as there was no competition left for him to race against .

He died of a colic on February 26th 1789 having sired 344 foals, his skeleton is housed in the Royal Veterinary College in Hertfordshire and it is said that up to 80% of to-days thoroughbreds are descended from Eclipse.One of his most famous descendants was the charger Copenhagen owned by no less than Napoleon Bonaparte.

O'Kelly and his wife retired to a country house in Middlesex which today is the home of North London Collegiate for girls.

A great book to read is, Eclipse the story of the rogue, the madam and the horse that changed racing, by Nicholas Clee.